Advent Day 20 Luke 1:36-38

“And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:36-38 ESV)

Could you imagine just going through life doing your everyday activities, and the Angel of the Lord appears and greets you with “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” I couldn’t comprehend what she felt at that moment. Obviously, this angel had made a mistake; he couldn’t be talking to her, calling her “O favored one.”. I’m sure she thought, “Maybe if I just keep quiet, he will realize his mistake and move on.” But while she was trying to make sense of these happenings, the angel spoke again, this time saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” She had to be thinking, “Ok, that didn’t clear up anything, why in the world have I found favor with God?” This had to be an extremely surreal moment, and if she was anything like me, I know I wouldn’t have been able to breathe, much less stand on my shaking legs.

The angel of the Lord didn’t stop with this unbelievable greeting, though; he also told her that two impossible things were going to happen. First, he said to Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”  Not only had this angel told Mary that she had found favor with God, but now that she was going to have God’s Son and was to name Him Jesus (which she knew meant “Yahweh Saves”), the angel continued to explain to her exactly who this “Son of God” was. He said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Even though, as a good Jewish young woman, she knew the promises of the Prophets of Old, which were words they used to describe the promised Messiah. I’m sure she thought, “Could this really be happening to me?” None of this was making sense to her. How could it be possible for her to be with a child, since she had never had a husband? This was just impossible for her human way of thinking.

Now, as if that wasn’t enough, the second impossible thing the angel told her was that her cousin “Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” Mary knew and loved Elizabeth, and I’m sure she was heartbroken and prayed for her and Zechariah because they hadn’t been able to have a child. Mary knew what a disgrace that had been for them. But now this angel had told her that Elizabeth, who couldn’t become pregnant, was pregnant and that Mary, who couldn’t be pregnant, was pregnant with the Son of the Most High! Impossible, all of this was just impossible. When all of this was starting to sink in, she said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” All of this is just impossible. My cousin Elizabeth and I are both pregnant, just impossible.

 Then the angel of the Lord said something that each of us needs to remember: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Do you believe that? Do you believe that the creator of the universe, the God that said, “Let there be light, and there was light”, the God who spoke through His prophets of old about a coming Savior of the World, could actually do all that He claims He can do? Do you believe, “nothing will be impossible with God”? Mary did, she believed, and just like Father Abraham, who some 2,000 years before her had believed God’s promises, now her believing what God was telling her, because of their believing God, the act of faith was counted to them as righteousness.

Now it all started to make sense to her; it wasn’t because of her faithfulness that she found favor with God, it wasn’t because of anything that she had done that made her worthy to bear the “Son of the Most High”; It wasn’t because her aged cousin Elizabeth had kept all of the commandments. All of this was happening because “For nothing will be impossible with God.” God looks at the heart, not at our pitiful deeds. God knows if we have been persuaded that He is “The Promise Keeper.” God sees our faith, our belief that He has given us the gift of everlasting life through the death, burial, and resurrection of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Words cannot express my overwhelming gratitude for Mary’s response to the angel's news. She said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” God’s age-old plan for providing a Savior of the world was at hand. Now, in just a short 30 years, both her Son, the Lord Jesus, and Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, would show the world that indeed, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

My friend, stop what you are doing today, and understand that it is not by accident that you are reading these devotions about the birth of the Savior of the world. Realize that, as incredible as all this sounds, nothing is impossible with God! Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, be persuaded that Jesus is indeed the Christ, and respond in faith, like Mary did.  Put your faith and trust in Jesus today and have the most joyous Christmas season you have ever had. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"

Advent Prayer Day 20

Our Father in heaven,

Forgive us when all we see are the impossible things of this world.

When all we see are limitations and circumstances beyond our control.

Help us to remember that with our God, all things are possible.

We know this because you are a faithful and loving God.

In the name of your Son and for His sake, we pray, Amen